Fuel guide
Every flavour, every line: caffeine and sodium chart
Thirty-four flavours across three gel lines, each with its own caffeine dose. This chart lists every Original, Liquid and Roctane flavour with its caffeine, a one-line tasting note and the sodium and carbohydrate figures the maker states, so every packet in your race-day pocket does what you expect.
How to read the chart
Caffeine is fixed per flavour, so the dose is set when you pick the packet: Original and Liquid use 20 or 40 mg, Roctane uses 35 mg, and Roctane Cold Brew Coffee carries 70 mg. Calories are 100 per packet in every line. Sodium and carbohydrate differ by line and, within Original and Roctane, slightly by flavour, hence the ranges. All three gels are made by GU Energy Labs, Berkeley, California.
| Line | Flavours (caffeinated) | Caffeine options | Carbohydrate | Sodium | Amino acids | Pack and price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Original Energy Gel | 17 (10) | 0, 20 or 40 mg | 21–23 g | 60–125 mg | 450 mg | Box of 8, ₹999 |
| Liquid Energy Gel | 7 (3) | 0, 20 or 40 mg | 24 g | 75 mg | 450 mg | Box of 8, ₹999 |
| Roctane Energy Gel | 10 (7) | 0, 35 or 70 mg | 19–21 g | 125–180 mg | 1,425 mg | Box of 8, ₹999 |
Each table is sorted by caffeine, highest first, so caffeine-free flavours sit together at the bottom. Tasting notes are our summary of the maker's descriptions; sodium and carbohydrate notes appear only where the maker states a figure for that flavour.
Original Energy Gel: 17 flavours
The everyday gel: 100 calories, 21–23 g carbohydrate, 60–125 mg sodium and 450 mg amino acids in a 32 g packet. Ten flavours carry caffeine, seven do not.
| Flavour | Caffeine | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Cola Me Happy | 40 mg | Tangy, lightly spiced cola, like the flat cola handed out at an aid station. |
| Jet Blackberry | 40 mg | Ripe mid-season blackberry, sweet with a touch of tart and no pucker. |
| Espresso Love | 40 mg | Bold, dark-roast coffee; built for early starts. |
| Caramel Macchiato | 40 mg | Caramel first, with a mellow coffee finish behind it. |
| Chocolate Outrage | 20 mg | Rich, fudge-like organic dark chocolate; one of the four launch flavours from 1993. |
| Tri-Berry | 20 mg | Three berries, smooth and ripe, with a faint floral note. |
| Vanilla Bean | 20 mg | Sweet, creamy vanilla made with real vanilla extract. |
| Salted Caramel | 20 mg | Sweet caramel with just enough salt to taste; caramel-thick texture. |
| Salted Watermelon | 20 mg | A salty start, then sweet, juicy watermelon, like a boiled sweet. |
| Mandarin Orange | 20 mg | Sour, juicy, tangy orange; a bright citrus hit. |
| Sour Peach | None | Juicy peach with a sour edge; the line's first sour flavour. |
| Lemon Sublime | None | Citrusy and slightly sour, not too sweet. 23 g carbohydrate, the top of the Original range. |
| Strawberry Banana | None | Mellow banana up front, a zip of strawberry behind; smoothie-like. |
| Raspberry Lemonade | None | Sweet raspberry over lemonade; a summer pairing. |
| Birthday Cake | None | Cake-batter sweet; made for the maker's 25th birthday. |
| Campfire S'mores | None | Toasted marshmallow first, then biscuit and a smooth chocolate finish. |
| Pumpkin Spice | None | Pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and clove; a limited seasonal run. |
Sodium and carbohydrate: what the numbers mean
Carbohydrate barely moves, 19–24 g whichever packet you hold, so choose by caffeine and taste. Sodium is the figure that changes: Liquid sits at 75 mg, Original spans 60–125 mg and Roctane 125–180 mg, so the lowest Roctane flavour matches the highest Original one. On a humid Mumbai morning or a Western Ghats climb, that is the number to plan around, alongside what you drink.
A salty taste is not a sodium figure. Salted Caramel, Salted Watermelon, Salted Lime and Sea Salt Chocolate are named for how they taste; the per-flavour number is on each packet's supplement facts panel, and the only flavour the maker singles out as highest is Roctane Lemonade. Check the panel before building a hot-weather plan around a name.
For when the amino-acid difference matters, see Roctane vs Original.
Putting the chart to work
- Everyday sessions: any caffeine-free flavour; rotate a few so flavour fatigue never sets in.
- Long runs and races: caffeine-free packets early, then a 20–40 mg flavour once the effort bites; Cold Brew Coffee only once 70 mg is tested in training.
- Heat and humidity: Roctane for the sodium; Lemonade (caffeine-free) or Salted Lime (35 mg) if you want the taste to match.
- Ultras: Plain & Simple exists to beat flavour fatigue, and on a Ladakh ultra, where appetite fades with altitude, a neutral, drinkable packet is easier to keep taking.
Timing does not change with flavour; the routine is in How to fuel.
FAQ
Does a caffeinated flavour have more energy than a caffeine-free one?
No. Calories and carbohydrate are the same within a line; caffeine adds focus, not fuel.
Which single flavour has the most caffeine?
Roctane Cold Brew Coffee at 70 mg. Next are the 40 mg flavours: Cola Me Happy, Jet Blackberry, Espresso Love, Caramel Macchiato, and Liquid Coffee and Cola.
Which flavour has the most sodium?
Roctane Lemonade, which the maker states has the most sodium of any gel. Every Roctane flavour sits in the 125–180 mg band, above Liquid's 75 mg.
Next steps
- Caffeinated vs non-caffeinated: when in an effort to take caffeine and who should skip it.
- Choose the right gel: Original, Liquid or Roctane for your sport and session.
- Shop all gels: every flavour above.
These statements have not been evaluated by a regulatory authority. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
Next steps
Read it. Now use it.
Three places to go from here: the full plan, the calculator that does the maths for your distance and the weather, and the gels themselves.
Plan
How to fuel
The whole plan, hour by hour. One gel about five minutes before you start, then one every 20–30 minutes once you are out past the hour, with a few sips of water each time. Do not wait until you feel hungry or flat.
See the plan
Tool
Fuel calculator
Activity, duration, intensity, body weight and the heat go in; carbs per hour, how many gels to carry and a minute-by-minute schedule come out. If the target feels high, start lower and build towards it over 6–8 weeks of gut training.
Get your numbers
Shop
Shop the gels
Three lines, one job. Original for everyday training, Liquid Energy for the same carbohydrate in a lighter, smoother form, and Roctane with up to three times the sodium and three times the amino acids for the longest, hardest days.
Shop all gelsPractise the plan on a long session,
not on race day.
Nothing new on the day. Test the timing in training, note what your stomach says, and adjust from there.